Tray.



G. H. CLARK & W. H. VAN DYNE. TRAY.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.10,19 11.

995,1 14 Patented June 13,1911.

WITNESSES '/.9- I v l mvsmons J @W @M- Q6? ATTORNEYS" inc srA'rns PATENT onricn.

CHESTER H. GLARK AN;D WILLIAM H. VAN DYNE. 0F ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY.

. TRAY,v

Specification of Lettersla'tent.

Patented June 13, 1911.

Application filed-March 10; 19-11: --Serial No. 613,605.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that we, Onnsrnn H. CLARK and VILLIAM H. VAN DYNE, citizens of the United States, residing in Atlantic City, county of Atlantic, and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Tray, of which the following is a specification.

In serving trays as usually heretofore constructed, the base of the same is ordinarily balanced upon the palm of the servitor, and accidents frequently arise from the tray becoming unbalanced or the user being jostled, especially during rush hours.

The object of the present invention is to provide a novel construction of tray, having a detachable bottom, whereby a chamber is formed between said bottom and the base of the tray, the latter having finger holes therein so that the tray can be easily held in a horizontal position at all times by the user inserting his fingers or his fingers and thumb in said finger holes, whereby danger of accident is reduced to a minimum.

For the purpose of illustrating our invention we have shown in the accompanying drawing one form thereof which is at pres ent preferred by us.

Figure 1 represents a perspective View of a novel construction of tray or waiter embodying our invention. Fig. 2 represents a perspective view of the detachable tray bottom removed. Fig. 3 represents a section on line w-:r, Fig. 1.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings: 1 designates our novel construction of tray or waiter, the same consisting of the base portion 2, having the upwardly extending side wall 3, the laterally extending portion 4, and the outwardly flaring wall 5, the contour of which may be beaded, ornamented or varied according to requirements.

6 designates the removable tray bottom, the same consisting of the base portion 7, whose outer periphery 8 is adapted to rest upon the ledge or seat formed by the laterally extending portion 4, said outer periphery 8 being extended upwardly and then deflected slightly inwardly, as at 9, whereby the tray bottom is strengthened or reinforced at its edges, as is apparent. If desired, the tray bottom 6 may rest loosely upon the ledge 4, but in practice we prefer to provide suitable fastening devices for re taining the tray bottom rigidly in position with respect to the ledge 4, one form of said fastening devices being seen in Fig. 3,

wherein the bottom 7 is shown as being provided with the threaded stems 10, which project through holes in the ledge 4, and have thereon the thumb nuts 11 or. their equivalents, which can be readily manipulated by the fingers of the user, when it is desired to r move the tray bottom for thepurposes of cleaning, polishing, inspection or repairs.

12 designates a chamber formed between the bottom 7 and the base 2, the latter having the finger holes 13 therein, which may be six or eight in number, and are reinforced by the thimbles or bushings 14 of rubber, leather or similar material, so that the fingers 15 of the user will not be cut or bruised in the act of handling the tray, as seen in Fig. l, the ends of said fingers being located in the chamber 12, and being clenched upon the bottom thereof.

The manner of using our novel invention will be apparent from Fig. 1, the fingers of the user being inserted into the chamber 12 through the finger holes 13, and the dishes to be served being supported upon the bottom 7.

We are aware that painters palettes and salvers have been heretofore proposed with a single thumb hole and that it has been proposed to apply a handle to a tray, but so far as we are aware, we are the first in the art to construct a tray having the advantageous features described, wherein there is combined in a single, unitary structure, the feature of the detachable bottom 6, between which andthe base 2 is formed the chamber 12, for the reception of the thumb and digits of the user and to none of the hereinabove described features of the prior art do we herein make our claim.

rality of finger holes therein, an annular Having thus described our invention, What upwardly and inwardly, there being a chaIn- 10 we claim as new and desire to secure by her formed between said bottom and base Letters Patent, is: for the reception of the fingers of the user.

A tray comprising a base, having a plu- CHESTER H CLARK WILLIAM H. VAN DYNE.

Witnesses:

JOHN B. SLACK, GRACE M. RIsLEY.

Wall extending upwardly from said base, said wall having a ledge extending laterally therefrom, and a bottom supported on said ledge, and having its outer edge deflected Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

